China's Belt & Road main focus of Euro-Asia Economic Forum 2019

Euro-Asia Economic Forum 2019 opening ceremony

The seventh Euro-Asia Economic Forum began this week in Xi'an, China. Attendees included business leaders, politicians and academics from over 50 countries across Europe and Asia including Germany, France, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan. The Forum's main focus was to discuss ways in which China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can facilitate cooperation and development across the continents.

The BRI is a mega project, launched in 2013 and instigated by China, through which it is aiming to revive the ancient Silk Road, along which trade between Europe and Asia flowed for around 1,500 years.

The forum started with an opening ceremony, followed by a plenary session and 10 parallel sessions covering a variety of topics, for example, finance, ecology, cultural tourism, meteorology, and science and technology. The over-riding aim was to foster partnerships between countries, international organisations, large corporations and local governments by capitalising on the diverse, multi-level dialogue between the participants.

In Xi'an, where the original Silk Road commenced, attendees discussed the project's achievements and potential.

"The Belt and Road Initiative brought new opportunities and cooperation prospects for us," said Zinaida Grechanii, the Chair of the Moldovan Parliament. "Scientific and technological innovation has transformed China from a world factory into a world laboratory. We hope to further connect Europe with Asia by leveraging deeper cooperation."

The Euro-Asia Economic Forum was first held in 2005 and has been staged every two years since. It has grown into one of the most important platforms for China and other participating countries to become involved in and benefit from the Belt and Road Initiative. To date, it has given rise to more than 70 Sino-foreign cooperation projects such as the Energy Club, the New Century Urban Development Fund, and the construction of the Transnational Digital Library.

Notable by their absence were critics of the project and, arguably, most glaringly absent was any representation from China's neighbour and rival, India. New Delhi has long been averse to the idea of the BRI due to concerns about the growing economic power that its northern neighbour wields over smaller nations as a result.

The European Union has had a more ambiguous stance on the project. While concerns remain about Chinese encroachment into Europe, and the threat of small countries being burdened with unpayable debts, some EU countries, most notably Hungary and Italy, have been more willing to engage.

For its part, China has repeatedly asserted that the BRI is solely about joint development.

Former Foreign Minister and ambassador to the US Yang Jiechi said in March: “The Belt and Road is open, inclusive and transparent. It does not play little geopolitical games. It does not engage in the exclusion of exclusive small circles.”

He added that Belt and Road projects, from their selection to their financing, go through careful risk assessments and the initiative’s principles stress sustainable development.